Role and status of Translators and Interpreters

In the colonial context, we find translators and interpreters, but particularly interpreters taking on an amazing range of responsibilities which go far beyond linguistic mediation. Interpreters in the colonial context acted as guides, explorers, brokers, diplomats, ambassadors and advisers on Indian or local affairs; that is why they were sometimes branded as traitors, because they were indispensable to the colonial authorities. In other contexts, too, translators and interpreters, in oral traditions such as the African tradition were expected to act as spokesmen for their communities, not just as linguistic mediators. In the eighteenth century in Turkey, the duty of the Naval Dragoman included the supervision of the collection of taxes from non-Muslim subjects, though later on the 1839 Tanzimat limited his responsibility to interpreting again, i.e. strictly linguistic mediation.

In terms of status, the highest status attained by translators and interpreters seems to have been linked to the profession being hereditary, as in the case of the 'wise men' in the oral tradition of Africa, who passed on their skills to their sons. Other examples include the TSUJIIS in Japan, who exercised family monopolies on interpreting in this area from the seventeenth century until the end of Japan's isolation in the second half of the nineteenth century. There are also the Greek Phanariots in Turkey in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, who similarly had sole control of the profession. All these groups were highly regarded by their communities and earned a very respectable living.

WORKING FRAMEWORKS

Another interesting area worth investigating concerns the use of Interpreters in contexts where we very rarely see them used today. The role of interpreters in educational contexts is of entry on the Hungarian tradition to bring it up to date, following the unfortunate death of Dr. Gyorgy Rado in 1994. Sara Laviosa-Braithwaite provided invaluable support as my Research Assistant for practically the whole of 1995. Juan Sager helped edit a number of entries in the summer of 1996, and Kirsten Malmkjaer stepped in later that summer to give the editing a final push.

Even with so much good will and generous assistance from a large number of people, there are bound to be some errors and infelicities, given the scope of the enterprise.

In the view of aforementioned description, the Translators as well as the interpreters are playing an important role in the society while they are called traitor. However, their role neither ignored nor be abolished from the society because of their role for the society. They are the indiscernible part of the society.For more Information Plz visit our Website here :- https://www.somyatrans.com/

Subtitling: A Real Art...

When we talk about what subtitling is, we can say in simple words that it is a printed translation. Which surely is true, but what if we take it as an art. You’ll not agree with me on the first place. When given some deep thoughts to it, nobody can deny the importance and skills required to be a subtitler.

On a simple note subtitling is one of the several processes commonly used in the translation of audio-visual products. It can be in the form of captions or simple subtitles shown at the bottom on the screen.

Subtitling is much cheaper than dubbing, and it takes less time, so it is common in smaller countries for which the audience is too small to justify dubbing on a large scale.

Now lets discuss it further.

From a linguistic point of view, subtitling can be divided into two types: a) Intralingual subtitling, also known as captioning, which is primarily aimed at the deaf and hard of hearing, but also extremely useful for people learning a foreign language; b) Interlingual subtitling, the spoken/written message of the original product which is translated into the language of the target audience. From technical point of view it can again be of two type: a) Open Subtitling, which refers to subtitles that appear permanently on screen and cannot be ‘switched off’ by the viewer; b) Closed subtitles, which the viewer can choose to see or not.

Translation of Subtitling is sometimes very different from the translation of written text. Usually, when a film or a TV program is subtitled, the subtitler watches the picture and listens to the audio sentence by sentence. As subtitling doesn’t just mean to translate the dialogue, thus other meaningful language in films such as signs, letters, captions and other written words are also an important area needed to be considered upon. When a film has lots of written language and dialogue happening together, this can result in some very difficult choices for the subtitler.The subtitler may or may not have access to a written transcript of the dialog. Especially in commercial subtitles, the subtitler often interprets what is meant, rather than translating how it is said, i.e. meaning being more important than form. The subtitler does this when the dialog must be condensed in order to achieve an acceptable reading speed.

The subtitler’s task is already difficult because subtitles are so limited in space (about 37 characters per line, and a maximum of two lines) and time (subtitles should not stay on the screen longer than six seconds). The result is that the content of the dialogue has to be cut down to fit in the subtitles. Not only that, but the content has to be translated, and the subtitles also have to be ‘spotted’ or timed carefully to match the dialogue.

The basic aim of any Translation is to reformulate a source language message in a given target language, avoiding at all costs any misunderstandings in the process. In other translation practices mistakes can easily pass unnoticed, but this is rarely the case in a mode of translation as uniquely vulnerable as subtitling. Hence it will no be incorrect to project subtitling as another real art form of contemporary time.

Tips for Translation

There is no need to explain what translation means in our everyday non-professional understanding. It is a process when a text – be it oral or written - created in one language is transferred into another language. But translation has never been just a word for word substitution – it is a difficult and creative process that requires real professionals with a wide experience in Translation Industry. It is the language differences that made people resort to this hard yet vitally important job and made the translation itself one of the oldest occupations in the world. Different cultures, mentalities, levels of development, traditions – all of them come forward when a need arises to translate. It is easy to make oneself lost in this ever-changing world of words and meanings.

Many people believe that translation is an easy thing and all you have to do is to change words from the source text into the equivalent words of a target text. However, this is not true since some phrases, if translated literally, would make no sense.

Translation is a very complicated process which has to consider many factors - the genre and the style of the original text, the translator's competence, and the timeline allocated to the project and many more. There are a great number of useful translation tips available online and offline, yet every translator have their own reliable methods and techniques, built on expertise and time. Here, are few of the most essential translation tips that can come in handy both for the oral translation and the written translation.

Oral Translation Tips

Interpreting - simultaneous, consecutive and whispering - is considered to be the most difficult type of translation. To achieve great results in this domain, an interpreter is expected to have a high level of competence in different areas, to understand and critically analyse the translated information, to know how to highlight the key elements in the text, to constantly enrich their professional vocabulary, etc. The personal features of an interpreter - such as a quick reaction, clear articulation, and bright mind - are also of great importance.

The most essential interpretation tips are as follows:

• In advance familiarize yourself with the topic of the speech
• Note down main points of the speech – it will help you when interpreting
• Translate and clarify the meaning of special terms and key words prior to interpreting
• Establish friendly relations between you and the speaker at a consecutive interpretation
• Remember to pronounce words distinctly and clearly
• Produce a brief summary at the end of the speech - it helps to clarify conclusions
• React quickly and be ready to work under pressure
• Enjoy what you are doing - there won't be a second chance
• Transmit a clear message to the target audience.

Work, in Translation Industry

A glimpses of work in translation Industry

The Job: Translator/ Interpreter

The Nature of the Work: Translators and interpreters work fluidly with languages, but their responsibilities differ. Translators work with printed copy. Interpreters specialize in the spoken word and serve as liaisons between two parties, such as a doctor and patient or defendant and attorney. They typically must consider ethical obligations; translators often have to massage copy to make sense of pop culture references. "Being bilingual isn't enough," says Judy Jenner, who co-founded Twin Translations with her sister. "We have to shape a message to an international audience."

The Pay: Many jobs are free-lance. Interpreters can earn between $15 and $30 per hour, according to Common Sense Advisory, a Boston-based research firm. Translations are paid per word. Ms. Jenner, for example, charges 24 to 27 cents per word, depending on the skill level. Savvy translators can earn six figures per year, says Milena Savova, academic director of the department of foreign languages, translating and interpreting at New York University. Full-time staff at language-services firms earn from $40,000 to $60,000, according to a recent survey from the Globalization and Localization Association, a language-services trade group.

The Hours: Hours are often flexible. Ms. Jenner, who lives in Las Vegas, says she completes her assignments while lounging by the pool. Her twin sister and fellow translator/interpreter works from Austria. Elizabeth Chegezy, a translator and interpreter in Philadelphia, says free-lancers can work as much or as little as they like. However, she warns that the high-paced role technology plays in the business means some clients will demand unreasonable deadlines. At language-services firms, business hours are the norm.

The Benefits: Free-lancers are responsible for their own health-care and retirement-savings plans. At language-services firms, traditional health-care packages are common, as are retirement-savings programs.

Globalization and Localization Association Website Becomes Industry Portal

The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) has completely updated its website www.gala-global.org to offer more resources for members and the industry.

One of the major new features is the Knowledge Center. In addition to a wealth of articles, case studies, and survey data, the Knowledge Center includes the association’s quarterly GALAxy newsletter, its LocalizationCAREERS.net job board and its updated Language Technology & Services Directory. The searchable directory offers users easy access to information on vendors around the world.

Another new feature is the Localization Overview, which lives within the Knowledge Center. Developed by industry experts, the overview is a first stop for anyone who wants more information on taking products and services global. It covers everything from definitions of localization and internationalization to localization technologies to working with localization vendors.

“We have made the website a portal to be used by our members and their customers for greater knowledge,” said Laura Brandon, GALA Association Manager. “Our goal is to make it the premier resource in the language and localization industry.”

Quality Ways For the Translation

As all the countries of the world, to fulfill there financial need, coming together irrespective of there political boundaries and, to help people come together and carry same perspective for one target, these countries are taking help of translation to let the world know about there historical articles, scriptures and texts.

Technique can also not ignore the need importance of translation today. Especially, as in current times its position and situation clearly shows that its field will keep on growing. Because of this, many people are making translation as there professional.

But translation is not a piece of cake… It’s a process of dedication and complete lexical knowledge. As far as those people are concerned, who think that mere knowledge of some languages can make it easy to translate a language from another language, they are not correct. As the transferring a life from its habitat, effects on its efficiency and habits, as translation of a creation of a language definitely affects its original existence. Most of the time, is has been seen that, some translation of a creation is very awkward.

For removing this type of problem here are some step must be taken:-

First of all, we should well understand the topic or document is being given for translation. Doing many kind of research, can be helped to understand the sole of the source. After understanding the sole, we can do the translation very much closer to existing translation. Then we can start the Translation. After completing the translation, we must re-review our own translation. As we know Human being is the statue of mistakes. That’s why it is absolutely sure that we can do mistakes, and by this way we can remove these kind mistakes by our self.

Secondly, we should send our translation to the Editor, for editing and Review. It will bring upon qualitative changes in your translation by removing grammatical and stylistically errors.
After this, we must send the edited and reviewed translation to the reviewer for final review. It is very much important role in translation. Because the reviewer find out the miner mistakes, preferential changes from the translation.

After the completion of above steps, we can say the translation has been completed. But even we must send the file to the Final revision and detailed explanation. So that we can be satisfied with the translation and further argues.

Following these steps while translation, Improve the Quality and Sole of an Existing Creation and can be satisfied with Our Own work.

Translation : Art or Science

Since time immemorial, human beings have yearned for knowledge. Inventions of fire by flinting two stones and then of wheel, were the most revolutionary inventions of history. These inventions led human beings settle down in a group, making the framework of a society. With the formation of society came the apparent urge of acquiring knowledge and sharing it. In today’s world, communication between different nations with different languages is feasible through translation.

Translation is putting some content into the words of a different language; maintaining the spirit of the source language. In the same way, Pinhhuck (1977: 38) defines translation as "a process of finding a Target Language equivalent of the Source Language.

Is translation a scientific study or artistic endeavor, researchable theory or technical craft, a branch of linguistics or of literature? Being utilized as a means to act as a bridge between two cultures, translation seems to be a complicated and multi-faceted activity or phenomenon.

According to Benjamin (1923), the twentieth century has been called the age of 'reproduction' or, as Jumplet (1923) points out 'the age of translation' (as cited in Newmark, 1988a:1); however, the constant debate as to whether translation is an art or science has a long history. Some scholars may argue that translation is a process of creative thinking; consequently, it is subjective and cannot be systematized by laws.

As Savory (1957:49) claim, "it would almost be true to say that there are no universally accepted principles of translation, because the only people qualified to formulate them have never agreed among themselves"; therefore, he does not tend to consider translation as a science.

According to Kelly (1979:51), Hieronymus (also known as St. Jerome, 4th century A.D) as well as others followed Cicero's 9106-43 B.C) claim constantly that translation was a branch of oratory, and Holmes (1979a:23), specifying two branches of translation studies, namely pure and applied, points out that the aim of pure translation studies is to describe the phenomenon of translation and to investigate all related aspects of it; however, applied translation studies focus on the application of translation theories to such aspects of translation as translation practice, the teaching and learning of translation.

He believes that all factions of translation are interrelated and their relationship is dialectical; however, Toury (1995:7) puts forward that the relationship between pure and applied translation studies is unidirectional--theoretical studies serve as a nurturing source for the applied studies. Furthermore, Toury (1982:7) believes that translation, as a cognitive science, has to reach beyond linguistics, and calls it "interdisciplinary"; consequently, it seems that he considers translation a science. This science seems to be warmly welcomed by some scholars in the form of 'word for word.' For instance, Norton (1984:59) quotes Horace (65-8 B.C) to state that, "it is the duty of a faithful interpreter to translate what he undertakes word for word."

Nevertheless, Chukovskii (1984:93) does not take translation into consideration as a science when he confirms that, "translation is not only an art, but a high art." Moreover, Newmark (1988a), referring to translation as "a craft" Some scholars consider translation a science. Though the most salient features of a field of science are precision and predictability, Berkeley (1991:83) notes that some sciences, principally those dealing with the humanities, do not attain a one hundred percent predictability level. However, Baker (1998:4) points out that translation is a separate academic discipline which, "like any young discipline, needs to draw on the findings and theories of the other related disciplines in order to develop and formulate its own methods." Nevertheless, distinguishing between science and translation, Karra (2000:1) writes that "my colleagues never understood why I chose the world of translation over science."

Translation is an art, not a science; like most arts, it is a lot more complicated than it looks. (Translation, 2005:2)

Translation studies can be regarded as a science. However, if we take the product of translation into account, it seems rational to think of it as a craft or art. Whether translation is regarded as a science, art, or craft, it seems significant to note that a good translation should play the same role in the TL as the original did in the SL.

अनुवाद की समस्याएं और चुनौतियां

अनुवाद की प्रामाणिकता, भाषा और सटीकता पर प्रश्नचिह्न लगाए जाने के बावजूद यह स्पष्ट है कि अनुवाद वर्तमान समाज की अत्यन्त महत्त्वपूर्ण आवश्यकता बन गया है। इसी कारण आज अनुवाद पर स्वतंत्र विधा के रूप में विचार किया जा रहा है। वर्तमान वैज्ञानिक तथा औद्योगिक उन्नति तथा संचार और क्रान्ति के युग में अनुवाद और भी अधिक महत्त्वपूर्ण हो गया है। टेक्नोलॉजी तथा सूचना के क्षेत्र में प्रत्येक राष्ट्र और समाज शीघ्रातिशीघ्र उन्नति के लिए प्रयासरत है। आज के प्रतिस्पर्धात्मक युग में यह अनिवार्य हो गया है कि विभिन्न भाषाओं में तुरन्त अनुवाद की व्यवस्था उपलब्ध हो। आधुनिक सामाजिक व्यवस्था में त्वरित अनुवाद के महत्त्व को देखते हुए कम्प्यूटरीकृत अनुवाद के क्षेत्र में भी अनुसंधान किए जा रहे हैं।

आमतौर से, एक भाषा की किसी सामग्री का दूसरी भाषा में रूपान्तर ही अनुवाद है। इस तरह अनुवाद का कार्य है - एक भाषा में व्यक्त विचारों को दूसरी भाषा में व्यक्त करना है। लेकिन इसे व्यक्त करना सरल काम नहीं है। हर एक भाषा की अपनी विशेषताएं होती हैं, जो अन्य भाषा से कुछ या पूर्णतः भिन्न होती है। अनुवाद करते समय अनुवादक को यह ध्यान रखना होगा कि मूल भाषा के भाव को अनूदित भाषा में पूर्णतः उतारा गया हो। पूर्णतः भाव का मतलब है कि मूल भाषा की सामग्री व अनूदित भाषा की सामग्री पढने से यह प्रतीत नहीं होना चाहिए कि यह अनूदित कृति है। कम से कम मूल भाषा व स्रोत भाषा में निकटता होनी चाहिए। समानता की यह निकटता जितनी अधिक होती है, अनुवाद उतना ही अच्छा और सफल होता है।

अनुवाद की समस्या द्विभाषकीय है, इसके लिये उन दो भाषाओं का पूर्ण ज्ञान अपेक्षित है जिससे और जिसमें अनुवाद होता है। यह समस्या मूलतः दुभाषिये की है। इसका तात्पर्य यह है कि अनुवादक का दो भाषाओं पर इतना अधिकार होना चाहिये कि वह दोनों पक्षों का ठीक-ठीक ज्ञान रखते हुए संबोधित कर सके और समझा सके। भाषा का एक स्वभाव बन जाता है जिसे संस्कार कहते हैं। अनुवाद शैली से विजातीय भाषा को सीखकर मनुष्य धीरे-धीरे स्वभाव अर्जित करता है और अभ्यास बन जाने पर वह कभी-कभी अपने आपको दो नावों पर सवार अनुभव करता है।

अभ्यस्त भाषाम में, हमारा ध्यान लिखने, पढने और बोलने में उन कठिनाइयों की ओर नहीं जाता जो भाषा की संरचना से जुड़ी होत हीं। भावनाओं का प्रकाशन स्वतः प्रवाह में होता चलता है। हम धारा के किसी क्षण में रुककर तल में अन्तर्निहित भावना को देखने का प्रयास नहीं करते। यह तथ्य सजातीय भाषा के लिए अत्यन्त स्वाभाविक है। इसकी समस्या स्वभाषा अनुवाद परिभाषा को विजातीय भाषा की शब्दावली को स्वभाषा में व्यक्त करना है। इसके लिए उस भाषा की भावना का ज्ञान अपेक्षित होता है। उसके अनन्तर उसी के समकक्ष भाव और विचार व्यक्त करने वाले शब्द या वाक्य को स्वभाषा में खोजना पडता है। अनुवाद की वही मूल समस्या है।

भाषा वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि से अनुवाद की समस्या के दो पहलू हैं। एक है द्विभाषकीय रूपान्तरण और दूसरा है भाव रूपान्तरण। दोनों एक दूसरे के पूरक होकर आते हैं। द्विभाषकीय शैली से किया हुआ अनुवाद शुद्ध रूप मंल शब्दानुवाद होता है, जिसमें तुलनात्मक भाषा विज्ञान महत्त्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाता है। कई बार ऐसा होता है कि एक परिवार की दो भाषाओं में अनुवाद बडी सरलता से हो जाता है। उदाहरणार्थ, जर्मन और इंग्लिश भाषाएं, ग्रीक परम्परा से जुडी होने के कारण परस्पर शाब्दिक लेन-देन भी कर सकती है और जहाँ वैसा सम्भव न हो वहाँ मूल ग्रीक शब्दावली से अपना शब्द बना सकती है।

प्रत्येक भाषा में वाक्य की कुछ इकाइयां होती हैं जिनसे उनकी संरचना होती है। पदों से बनने वाले वाक्यांश वाक्य के घटक बनते हैं और एक वाक्य दूसरे वाक्य के साथ समन्वय प्राप्त करके एक वाक्यता लेता है। कोई आदेश, निर्देश या उपदेश अपनी समग्र विषय-वस्तु के साथ एक महाकाव्य बन जाता है। अनुवादक को विषय वस्तु पर ध्यान रखकर शब्द योजना, वाक्य रचना और समन्वय की व्यवस्था करनी होती है। जाहिर है यह प्रश्न जितना द्विभाषकीय लगता है उससे कहीं अधिक भाव रूपान्तरण का है। भाव रूपान्तरण का सम्बन्ध सामाजिक द्विभाषकी से है। हमारे देश के संदर्भ में ऐतिहासिक दृष्टि से यह समस्या ईस्ट इण्डिया के समय से भारत में ही जन्म लेकर विकसित हुई। मैकाले के प्रयासों से भारत में अंग्रेजी की प्रशासन की भाषा होने का अवसर प्राप्त हुआ जिसके कारण प्रशासनिक कामकाज में अनुवाद शिथिल बना दिया गया था। सामान्यतया ऐसे प्रत्येक देश में अनुवाद की समस्या आती है जहाँ दो या दो से अधिक भाषाएं प्रशासन में कार्यरत होती है। स्विटजरलैंड इसका आदर्श उदाहरण है, वहाँ प्रशासन में चलने वाली तीनों भाषाएं एक ही परिवार की होने के कारण भारत के समान जटिलता नहीं उत्पन्न करतीं।

इन समस्याओं का समाधान सरल नहीं है। बहुत से शब्दों के समानार्थक शब्द दूसरी भाषा में होते ही नहीं हैं। नीम के लिए अंग्रेजी भाषा में तथा लिली के लिए हिन्दी भाषा में शब्द नहीं है। यह परेशानी तब और बढ जाती है जब प्रशासनिक शब्दावली का अनुवाद करना पडता है। ऐसे व्यक्तियों को इस तरह के अनुवाद में कृत्रिमता अनुभव होती है, जिनकी जुबान पर मूलभाषा का शब्द चढ चुका होता है। उदाहरणार्थ, यूनिवर्सिटी को सही या गलत ढंग से सभी बोल लेते हैं, कचहरी, मदरसा, फालतू आदि प्रचलित शब्द रहे हैं। पालतू पशुओं को मवेशी कहा जाता रहा है। इन और इन जैसे प्रचलित शब्दों के लिए जहाँ तक हो नये शब्दों की खोज नहीं करनी चाहिये।

सुभाष चंद्र
हिंदी अनुवादक

Translation Company

Machine Translation

"A renewed international effort is gearing up to design computers and software that smash language barriers and create a borderless global marketplace."

Machine translation (MT) is a procedure whereby a computer program analyzes a source text and produces a target text without further human involvement. In point of fact, machine translation typically does involve human intervention, in the form of pre-editing and post-editing. An exception to that rule might be, e.g., the translation of technical specifications (strings of technical terms and adjectives), using a dictionary-based machine-translation system.

So far, machine translation a major goal of natural-language processing has met with limited success. A November 6, 2007, example illustrates the hazards of uncritical reliance on machine translation. Machine translation has been brought to a large public by tools available on the Internet, such as Google, Babylon, Wikipedia etc. These tools produce a "gisting translation" a rough translation that, with luck, "gives the gist" of the source text.

With proper terminology work, with preparation of the source text for machine translation (pre-editing), and with re-working of the machine translation by a professional human translator (post-editing), commercial machine-translation tools can produce useful results, especially if the machine-translation system is integrated with a translation-memory or globalization-management system.

In regard to texts with limited ranges of vocabulary and simple sentence structure (e.g., weather reports), machine translation can deliver results that do not require much human intervention to be useful. Also, the use of a controlled language, combined with a machine-translation tool, will typically generate largely comprehensible translations.

Perspective of IT and Telecommunication Translation

Present Time is the time of Globalization. In the current scenario every country is carrying equal level of perception and thinking about its culture, state and business. Today one's loss or profit is connected to others loss or profit. One of the biggest examples of this is Economic Showdown. At this time, every country need to share there information, culture, and past experiences with another country. It’s not only benefited for their business but also it is beneficial for future steps of development and mutual growth.

Currently, there are many types of translation, but the scope of technical translation is becoming so popular that it seem difficult to assess the border. For this new software and new telecom device is being developed constantly. But the native people of other country can not understand the functionality of that device, machine. To solve it we need to render the information from one technical language to other technical language. It’s called IT/Telecom translation.

In this domain of translation there are more fields. Very first is the Hardware, It means that, when exploring any Hardware device, like HP LaserJet, other people may find it difficult to understand the ways of operating the device, most of the time they need the manual in their native language. Hence to make the manual and operating methods readable and understandable Hardware translation is needed.

Second one is Software translation, its purpose of translation is also same as above, but Web Site Localization is also an important pillar of IT/Telecom Translation Industry. As today, the use of internet is growing by the speed of light; hence giving a broad scope of exposure. For the same, every company is making their web site, and making it localized in local language. So that, people of any country know and understand them. By this, it becomes the fastest way to spread information of the company.

And the last field of this domain is Telecom Industry. In this part the content and manuals of device like Mobile, Fax machine, and Wireless get translated. Today these devices are being counted as one of the important need of human being. Irrespective of there knowledge of English or any other foreign language, they use it. But to use them, they need to understand the methods provided in the manual, and for the same they Telecom Translation is coming in use.

To make the translation easier and approachable there are many Company, Agency and Freelancers handling the translations of these fields. And Somya Translators Pvt Ltd is one of the solutions provider for all of these translation issue.